Deadly Sins
by PuppyPadfoot
Summary: Chrno, Rosette, and Azmaria are drawn into another one of Aion's plots. What does the wicked devil have in store for our trio? Read and find out! (more chapters to come later)
1. Gospel I Wrath

**Disclaimer: ** I do not in any way, shape, or form, own Chrno Crusade. This work is based upon the popular anime/manga series created by Daisuke Moriyama. The only things I own are any original ideas you won't find in the anime or the manga. Enjoy the story!

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"Azmaria! The crucifix barrier! Quickly!" Rosette's voice rang out in the night as he and Rosette continued their battle against the demon Anixiel and his minions. The large man that stood at the top of the hill in the middle of Cortland County commanded his legion like a king; and his legion – which consisted of the townsmen under a spell – obeyed without question. They advanced upon Rosette and Chrno while Azmaria hurried with the crosses. 

"I've got to," she panted as she dodged one of the advancing women. "I've got to – AH!" A lanky townsman appeared in front of the small, silver-haired diva and reached out to grab her.

"Azmaria," Chrno screamed as he picked up a large rock and hurled it at the man hitting him in the middle of his forehead. The would-be attacker fell over from the impact as Azmaria fell to her feet, her small hands clutching onto the crucifix. She was shaking from her experience and barely noticed Chrno running towards her.

The demon dropped to his knees and put an arm around her.

"Azmaria are you," Chrno began just as Azmaria screamed soundly, startled by Chrno's sudden appearance. The demon's sensitive ears rang with the din of Azmaria's voice - one that would normally invoke the heavens – but now only caused pain. Her eyes widened when she saw the purple-haired boy face down on the ground next to her and her hands immediately moved to cover her mouth.

"Oh no! Chrno!" She put her hands on his shoulders and shook his gently. "Chrno I'm so sorry, I just. I well..." She trailed off and bit her lip. She always seemed to cause trouble. She began to sniffle, tears welling up in her when Rosette ran up to them.

"What do you two think you're doing?! Get up Chrno!" She began using her feet to nudge at the fallen devil. "CHRNO!"

Chrno stirred at the constant nudging and at the shrill sound of Rosette's screaming. He blinked his eyes and immediately jumped to his feet when he remembered where they were.

"Rosette!" His exclamation held a hint of confusion in it.

Rosette's eye twitched. "Chrno…" It was obvious she was biting her tongue. "How nice of you to JOIN US IN TIME FOR OUR DEFEAT!" The hordes of men, women, and children were advancing upon them quickly, forming a circle around the trio. There was no escape and Anixiel laughed maniacally.

"You're mine, Sinner! I'll use my new horn to take the rest of your astral energy and the energy of your contractor! And that girl…" he said, trailing off as he pointed to Azmaria. "That girl will grant me more power than I ever had in the Kingdom of Heaven!"

Azmaria huddled behind Chrno and Rosette, her hands still clutching onto the crucifix, the final one needed to complete the barrier. Rosette glared at the devil as she swung the two by four frantically to keep her legion at bay.

"You'll never get away with this," cried Rosette in a high-pitched tirade. "I swear to God that if you lay a hand on Azmaria I will-" the girl in the nun's outfit reached a hand behind her to grab onto Azmaria only to find the girl was not there. Her eyes widened as she began to look behind herself and Chrno.

"WHERE IS AZMARIA?!" Rosette asked sternly as she towered over Chrno, veritable flames flickering in her eyes.

Chrno held up two hands and smiled innocently at the most hot-headed member of the Magdalene Order. "Rosette! Maybe we should concentrate on fending off these people and finding Azmaria." His voice was as calm as ever. .

"Lose your Apostle," Anixiel asked with a wicked chuckle. "Let me find her for you," he offered with a bow though anyone could tell he was anything but sincere. He leapt off his hill and began stalking toward the increasing group of town's people that had gathered around Chrno and Rosette.

"We have to get through this crowd," Chrno yelled as he subdued two of his attackers with swift blows to the gut.

"Don't you think I know that," Rosette replied through gritted teeth as she pushed against a small group of four men that had 'decided' to come forward for an attack.

"Goddammit," she thought to herself. "If we've lost Azmaria I'll never…" She put her head down for a moment. "Joshua…"

Just then a hand grabbed her wrist and jerked it upwards, forcing her to look up.

"Anixiel," she muttered as she began to struggle against his grasp. The devil smirked and glanced at Chrno. The legion stopped their advance and created an almost impenetrable fence around Rosette and her partner.

Chrno's eyes narrowed as he turned his body to face Anixiel though his eyes were averted to the ground. "Take your hands off of her," growled the Broken Horn as he clenched his hands into tight fists. The air around him began to whirl with intense energy.

Anixiel smirked. "Looks like we've gotten someone ang- AHHHHHH"

Anixiel let go of Rosette and fell to his knees in pain as a brilliant blue light surrounded them in the shape of a cross. Rosette and Chrno looked up and smiled.

"Azmaria," they said in unison as Rosette and Chrno made their way through the fallen bodies of Anixiel's legion. They were making a mad dash for their car when they were joined by Azmaria who had emerged from a dense collection of bushes.

"You finished the barrier," Chrno said excitedly as he continued to run beside the small girl.

Azmaria nodded. "I just couldn't let you two down."

Rosette looked over her shoulder as Azmaria spoke and smiled. "Right. Well let's finish the job then!"

The trio reached the Ford and Rosette jumped in quickly, half of her body immediately disappearing into the back seat. She began to rummage through their supplies furiously, throwing things left and right in the car.

"WHERE IS IT?! I KNOW I BROUGHT IT WITH US!"

Chrno and Azmaria watched in silence as Rosette's rear end bobbed up and down in the car. A slight blush rose to Chrno's cheeks before he looked away only to find Anixiel charging toward them. Azmaria's eyes widened and she ran to hide on the other side of the car.

"Uh… Rosette…I think you better hurry up…" Chrno said as he stuck his head into the car.

"You're not helping, Chrno," Rosette replied right before she popped straight up holding a Field 16 Gauge shotgun in her right hand.

"AHA! I knew I brought it," she said triumphantly as she jumped out of the car.

Chrno cocked a brow. "Isn't that the Elder's newest weapon?"

"Yep! Azrael's Wrath." She said with a grin. "Thought I'd test it out for the Elder." She grabbed a small, leather case filled with two bullets and opened the magazine.

"Does the Elder know that you have it?" Chrno's brow furrowed as he watched the gun and then Rosette's wicked delight in loading it and locking the top part down. "No, of course he doesn't."

"There's no time for that! Here he comes," Rosette cried as she spied their enemy coming towards them.

Rosette raised the shotgun skillfully in one hand and aimed it at Anixiel, who was still a little shaken by the crucifix barrier. The devil swayed left and right as he ran; he bared his fangs angrily as his claws flexed in preparation for a fight. Rosette followed the devil's every movement, her trained eye trying to get a fix on him.

"Come on," she muttered under her breath. Anixiel was less than twenty feet away and he was still swaying erratically. "Applesauce!" She let the shotgun drop to her side angrily. "He's not staying still!" She dropped to her knees and sighed.

The fact of the matter was that Rosette just didn't have the ammunition to waste a shot and she wanted to make sure this was going to hit the mark. Then suddenly Chrno appeared behind her and raised her arm up.

"You can do it, Rosette," he said as he kept her steady, his right arm right alongside hers as his hand wrapped itself gently around her wrist. His other hand had found its way to her left arm and was raising it to the shotgun. "Two hands…" he whispered as he moved the shotgun in line with Anixiel. Rosette nodded and took a deep breath.

"ANIXIEL!" Her cry resonated through the air as her finger pulled back upon the trigger. The two shells exploded from the barrels of the shotgun and flew through the air, splattering into a thousand tiny silver pellets made from a silver cross that used to reside in the Vatican.

_Penitence, _that's what the Elder called the bullets because they were filled with the Divine Spark, the essence of Azrael's power over flames. When the pellets embedded themselves into Anixiel's flesh, the demon howled. But not as much as when the pellets themselves exploded inside of his flesh, sending the holy silver and the Divine Spark through his body. His spirit would be restrained while his body was consumed in flames.

Anixiel screamed and his hands moved to his head in unimaginable pain. He clutched his blue and silver hair with bloodied hands and pulled at it as the flames from the Divine Spark worked their way to the surface.

"YES!" Rosette's face beamed with pride. "I did it!" She twirled the shotgun up quickly so that it could rest upon her shoulder. Her opposite hand fisted upon her hip and she began to laugh almost maniacally. "This shotgun is jake, Chrno! I'm gonna get the Elder to make tons more of those Penitence shells too!"

But Chrno was paying little attention to Rosette as his eyes were fixed upon Anixiel who was glowing red and orange as his flesh was being consumed by the Azrael's fire until the moment his body began to expand. And then the devil didn't move at all. Chrno's eyes widened as she quickly grabbed onto Rosette.

"Get behind the car," he yelled as he dragged her to join Azmaria on the other side of the Ford. Seconds are their retreat, Anixiel exploded, his fiery flesh splattering to the bushes and small shed that occupied the area. The park - which had always been a beautiful and peaceful place - was now set ablaze by the flaming material from Anixiel.

Rosette peeked out from behind the car and screamed.

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" She jumped up and rounded the Ford and began to hop from one foot to the next. Chrno and Azmaria joined Rosette and looked at each other, both unsure of what to say.

"It's okay Rosette," Chrno began. "This wasn't your fault… not really."

Rosette however was paying little attention to the devil by her side. Tears had begun to well up in her eyes and she began to wail.

"Why is it always like this?!"


	2. Gospel II Gluttony

"I just can't believe it," cried Sister Kate as she slammed the manila file onto her desk. "The ENTIRE park… destroyed. The people barely made it out alive! What do you have to say for yourself Sister Rosette?"

Rosette held her hands behind her back and smiled sheepishly at Sister Kate. "Well, it's not what it seems. I mean, isn't it more important that I defeated Anixiel and-"

"Sister Rosette," Sister Kate said with exasperation while emphasizing each word. "I would have preferred if you defeated the demon without destroying ANYTHING." The head nun's voice raised an octave with the last word. She sighed again and folded her hands together.

"Sister Kate," chimed an extremely suave voice in an English accent. "In the case at hand, it wasn't _actually _Rosette's fault at all; rather, faulty engineering on the Elder's part."

Father Remington kept his gaze toward the outside as he spoke. He held a teacup in his hand and sipped it quietly. The steam from the cup rose slowly and only seemed to be accentuated by the dim, morning light that was filtering through the large window. After taking another slow sip, Father Remington turned around to face the two sisters and smiled charmingly at both.

"Perhaps we should be thanking Rosette for testing out such an efficient weapon."

Sister Kate jumped to her feet as her hands rested on her desk. "We should thank Sister Rosette for testing Azrael's Wrath," she scoffed. "The Elder had barely finished the weapon when Sister Rosette decided to take it for her own use." The head nun's voice was beginning to rise again. "Had Rosette not taken the weapon the disaster in Cortland County would never have happened. I'm convinced that Anixiel could have been dispatched with a Gospel."

"But Sister Kate," Rosette protested as she stepped closer to the large desk. "Anixiel had found some way to remake his horn. He was calling upon the power of the Astral Lines. I don't think a Gospel would have stopped him!" Her chest heaved as she spoke and her hand was balled in a determined fist. "Sister Kate," Rosette said breathily. "I did what I had to do. I'm sorry that the park burned down, I'll start writing letters of apology immediately. But I can't say that I'm sorry that I used Azrael's Wrath on Anixiel. I just can't."

Sister Kate sighed and returned to her chair. "Sister Rosette…" she trailed off and shook her head. "You are to report to the Elder and inform him on the effects of his Penitence bullets. Tell him he is to redesign the bullet so that it does NOT cause its recipients to explode in a fiery blaze."

Father Remington smiled and walked over toward Rosette. He placed his teacup on the corner of Sister Kate's desk. "Come on, I'll go with you."

Rosette smiled. "Thank you Sister Kate." The young girl practically bounded out of the room and was just about to close the door when she peeked back in. "I'll get those apologies out right away too!" And with that she closed the door and made her way to the Elder's workshop with Father Remington.

-

Aion was perched atop the spires of one of the older churches in New York. The cold January wind gusted through his silver hair and caused his ponytail to whip out behind him. He rested his elbow upon his bent knee and held out his forearm for his messenger bird to rest upon.

"You've done well," he said in a wickedly low voice as the bird landed upon his arm. Aion looked out upon the city that seemed to shimmer like a diamond in the night. The bright lights of the buildings shone through even the thickest of fogs, even the one that had overtaken the city on this very night.

"I'm surprised that the Order hasn't realized that anything's amiss," he smirked and looked at the bird. "No matter, their folly shall be my gain. Rosette will be with her brother again and I shall regain my most loyal supporter." He reached up a hand to stroke the dark feathers upon the bird that remained eerily still as his gaze fell upon rooftops of the hazy city.

-

"You say Anixiel exploded in a fiery mass, hrm?" The old man in the odd spectacles was bent over a microscope-like device as he gazed intently at the empty shotgun shell.

Chrno nodded solemnly. "He was burning from the inside out, but instead of turning into ash he … well…"

"He burned down the entire park," Rosette interrupted as she barged into the Elder's workshop with Father Remington close behind her.

"Ah Rosette," said the Elder as he straightened himself up. "I heard that it was YOU who burned down the park, actually. Good job." The old man smirked sarcastically at Rosette as she waggled his eyebrows.

"Shut up you old perv!" Her shrill voice echoed in the small roam. Chrno winced at the sound.

"Now now, Rosette," said the Elder calmly. "If you're a good girl I'll modify the shells for you to use in the future."

Rosette's eyes brightened at the idea and she clasped her hands in front of her chest. "That would be jake! I can't wait to Azrael's Wrath again!" An almost wicked glint entered her gaze as she stared ahead, her mind racing with images of fallen demons.

"Of course, being a good girl means letting me fondle your breasts." The Elder reached out two hands toward Rosette's chest and made a squeezing gesture. Rosette narrowed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"YOU FILTHY PERVERTED," she smacked his hands away from her body. "GOOD FOR NOTHING," she stepped forward and pushed her sleeves up her arms. Chrno and Father Remington each grabbed onto an arm and tried to hold her back. "LECHEROUS OLD MAN!" Rosette's chest heaved angrily after her tirade but she was no longer making any advances toward the Elder.

The Elder however smiled brightly. "You know, your breasts look so voluptuous when you're breathing heavily." He smirked at her and let out a wicked chuckle.

"THAT'S IT!" She rushed forward but Father Remington and Chrno had already begun to drag her outside.

"We'll be back later, Elder," yelled Chrno as he left the workshop with Rosette in tow.

"Yeah we'll be back," Rosette muttered. "Back to pound your head in you perverted old perv!"

Rosette struggled against Father Remington and Chrno's grasp, but the two men would not let go of her until they were a good distance away from the Elder's workshop which wasn't until they reached the fountain in the center of the courtyard. Rosette sat angrily upon the edge of the fountain and Chrno took his place beside her, smiling peacefully.

"That old man, I swear, one day I'm gonna," she gritted her teeth and balled her hand into a fist and shook it angrily. Chrno smiled sheepishly at Rosette.

"It's a good thing he's such a good inventor otherwise you would have pummeled him a long time ago."

Rosette couldn't help but smile at Chrno and nodded. "Yeah… he is. Guess I can't kill him yet." The young girl looked up at Father Remington and smiled. "Have you all found out anything about how Anixiel recreated his horn?" Her angry demeanor from before had subsided to reveal one that was more serious and in every respect, more mature.

Father Remington crossed his left arm over his stomach and rested his elbow on the top of his left hand as his right hand stroked his chin.

"No, we haven't," he said thoughtfully. "Though we did retrieve his artificial horn from the scene; it was one of the only things that wasn't damaged in the fire."

Rosette's eye twitched.

Father Remington's lips curled into a slight smirk. "We're currently testing it to find out what it's made of exactly. I'm sure we'll get some answer in a few days or so."

Chrno looked up at Father Remington and sighed. "You know, I've never heard of _any _way that a devil could regrow his horn. I don't have a good feeling about this. It feels like," Chrno trailed off and glanced at Rosette. "It feels like Aion is behind this somehow."

Rosette looked over at Chrno and pursed her lips. "If Aion is behind this then…" She rose to her feet quickly as an odd expression crossed her face. "You know… I'm suddenly hungry. Come on Chrno." She reached down and grabbed the small demon's hand and dragged him to his feet. "Let's go get something to eat. See you later, Father Remington!" And with that Rosette made her way to the dining hall with Chrno in tow.

- _In the dining hall _-

Chrno sat next to Rosette as she ravenously attacked the pile of food sitting in front of her. It was as if she had literally taken all the food from the kitchen and was now eating it. Not just some of it or a little bit of it, ALL of it. From the chicken pot pie to the shrimp patties; stuffed mushrooms to Caesar salad, Rosette was eating it all.

"Oh my god, Chrno," she said in between heaping mouthfuls. "I don't remember the food ever tasting this good! Did we get a new cook?" She blinked at Chrno as she took a bite from her apple pie.

Chrno looked up from his soup which he had been sipping quietly while Rosette ate. "I don't think so. This tastes the same to me."

"Lel hit tasthes gud do me," she said with a full mouth of food before swallowing and taking a large swig of the juice that sat to her right. She sighed loudly but contently as she looked at the food in front of her and smiled, her eyes still twinkling with hunger.

Chrno cocked a brow and pushed his half-empty bowl of soup away from him. "I think I'm full," he said softly though his face clearly exhibited the confusion over Rosette's sudden appetite. "She probably hasn't eaten since our mission last night," he thought to himself as he looked at her.

Rosette smirked and eyed his soup. "Are you… going to eat that?"

Chrno shook his head. "No I think I-"

"Thanks!" Rosette quickly grabbed the bowl of soup and began to drink the broth directly from the bowl, foregoing the spoon. "Mmmm, chicken noodle." She slurped up a long noodle with a smack. "My favorite."

"How can someone as cute as Chrno have such a sloppy partner," said Sister Anna from the next table over. She, Sister Claire, and Sister Mary had all stopped their own meals to watch Rosette in awe.

Rosette's eye twitched just as she was about to eat a large spoonful of Shepherd's Pie. She looked up at Sister Anna and glared.

"Ah… Rosette," Chrno began sheepishly. "Maybe now's not the time…"

"Sister Anna." Rosette emphasized each word slowly. "I don't think you EAT ENOUGH!" With that said Rosette pulled back her spoon and flung the Shepherd's Pie straight at Anna. It flew through the air and landed on Anna's forehead staying there for a moment before it started to slide down. Rosette started to laugh maniacally.

"HA! WHO'S THE SLOPPY NOW, HUH!"

Claire and Mary had managed to take cover under the table just as Anna wiped the food off her face angrily. Her red hair only accentuated the anger in her eyes just as the young sister picked up a plate of rice and flung it at Rosette. The rice landed on Rosette's chest and Chrno couldn't help but chuckle softly. Rosette glared at him.

"If you don't help me I'm never going to speak with you again!" Rosette's face flushed with malice as she spoke. She didn't even notice the huge clump of mashed potatoes that Anna had already sent through the air towards her. It landed right on her cheek and Chrno slid out just before it would have dropped onto his pants.

Rosette turned toward Anna and began to fling anything she could grab at the other sister. Anna in turn was throwing more and more food at Rosette. It was a battlefield and Chrno knew he had to escape. He started to make his way to the doors by crawling underneath the tables, keeping well out of harm's way. Occasionally he'd see some food landing near him or hear it splattering against some furniture. He also heard the sound of breaking plates and angry screams and while this would have distracted anyone else, Chrno kept on his path. He had almost reached the doors to the dining hall, the doors to his freedom, when they began to open slowly.

"Rosette," cried Azmaria as she held her songbook close to her chest. "Rosette are you in here?" Azmaria's eyes widened as she spied Anna and Rosette throwing food at one another. The girl was like a deer in headlights as a stray mashed-potato projectile was headed towards her.

"Get down," cried Chrno in what seemed to be slow-motion. He ran as quickly as he could toward the scared Apostle and just when it appeared that the mashed-potato would hit Azmaria in the face, Chrno had grabbed her around her waist and pulled her down to the ground. The attack landed upon the large, mahogany doors with a splat just as Sister Kate appeared in the doorway, face painted in shock and horror at the sight that met her eyes.

"ROSETTE!"


End file.
